School Work, Weather-Damage Repair Could Push Building Permit Values To Record Level

FORT SMITH, Ark. (TB&P) — Building activity in Fort Smith got off to a horrible start in 2019. But for good reasons – new school construction – and not so good reasons – tornado and flood damage – the city could post record construction activity in 2019.

Permitted projects set a record of $191.631 million in 2015. The city had $187.678 million in permitted projects in 2018, up from the $169.958 million in 2017.

Fort Smith issued $56.55 million in building permits between January and May, a 34.61% drop – down almost $30 million – from the January through May 2018 amount of $86.483 million. Building permit values in Fort Smith, Greenwood and Van Buren combined for a total of $65.077 million for the first five months of 2019, down more than 37% from the $103.348 million in the same period of 2018.

For more information on how the $30 million deficit could soon be erased, visit our partners at Talk Business & Politics.